Seniors shine as Owen J. Roberts tops Norristown, 25-12
BUCKTOWN >> The shower was not at all unwelcome.
Neither was it unanticipated.
“I’ve gotten several of them over the years,” Owen J. Roberts head coach Rich Kolka said of the ice-water deluge he received toward the end of Friday’s game with Norristown. “It was the seniors. We rode them hard all week, and they were looking forward to that.”
The elder Wildcats, with their parents honored prior to the start of this Pioneer Athletic Conference Division 1 matchup at Wildcat Stadium, set the tone for Roberts’ 25-12 victory in the school’s Pink Out game. Quarterback Cooper Chamberlain ran and passed for Owen J. scores, lineman Arnaldo Montagano spearheaded the defense’s stellar moment of the game, and a number of other seniors — among them running backs Marcus Martin and Devon Banos, kicker Hugo Mateos — contributed to the Wildcats’ overall memorable night.
It started with Chamberlain, who covered 50 yards on 12 totes, going 16 yards around his right end inside the two-minute mark of the first quarter to put OJR (2-1 PAC Liberty Division, 5-2 overall) on the scoreboard. It ended up being a short-lived moment of joy for the ‘Cats, however, when Norristown’s Isaiah Tucker ran the subsequent kickoff back 85 yards for a score and turnovers cut down their next two possessions.
But Mateos salvaged the half by converting a 32-yard field goal as time expired. Owen J went to the locker room up 10-6, and with Martin having racked up 189 yards on numerous speedy runs that helped keep Norristown (0-3, 1-5) at bay.
“Sometimes that can be deceiving,” Norristown head coach Joseph Milligan said of the track-meet mode in which the game started. “We had miscues, and our offense has to put points on the board. The defense was out too long, and you can’t let penalties affect you the way they did.”
The second half saw OJR assert itself significantly on both sides of the ball. It started with a 43-yard punt that was downed at Norristown’s three-yard line.
After the Eagles’ Zahir Haynes was stopped for no gain on a plow up the middle, Clikine Wallace tried to circle his left end. But Montagano quickly descended on him and brought him down in the end zone for a safety late in the third quarter.
“He was on it first,” Kolka said of Montagano, whose play was followed by Roberts scoring on two of its next three possessions.
Chamberlain capped a four-play drive on Owen J’s next series — it got the ball kicked back by Norristown following the safety — by hitting Connor Leister with a 20-yard pass for an 18-6 lead 1:25 before the end of the third. And after Samuel Kuhl intercepted a Daniel Watson pass at the Roberts 44, Banos went 14 yards around his left end for a touchdown that staked OJR to a 25-6 lead with less than three minutes left.
Chamberlain finished the night 10-for-18 for 158 yards. Leister caught four of those throws for 76 yards, Martin covered 44 more stripes on three receptions, Kuhl had two for 35 and Savaugan Davidheiser one for three.
“We have a talented squad,” Chamberlain noted. “We have sophomores, juniors and seniors who make great plays.”
Coupled with the ground game amassing 267 yards — Banos added 32 after coming on for Martin in the second half — the Owen J. offense’s plus-400 yards total output was a particular source of pride for Kolka.
“If you have 300 yards offense, that’s a solid high school game,” he said.
Conversely, the Wildcats not converting a pair of drives inside the Eagles 20 into touchdowns was a not-so-proud state of affairs.
The first, with Chamberlain not credited with the score on a one-yard push up the middle, ended with Mateos’ field goal. The second, an 18-yard hookup from Chamberlain to Davidheiser, was nullified by an offensive-pass-interference call and ultimately the ball was turned over on downs.
“That’s two more touchdowns we could have had,” Kolka said.
Norristown put one more TD on the board inside the final three minutes, Watson (13 carries, 33 yards) scoring on a one-yard burst off center with 51 seconds to go. The Eagles had four pass completions on the drive, Watson hooking up twice with Gabe Randall and once to Christian Thomas and Gorski.
“We have to be prepared with all facets of the game,” Milligan said.
NOTES >> Martin left the game with 5:36 remaining in the third quarter with what Kolka described as a “lower body extremity injury” awaiting further examination. He had only two carries in the second half. … The game was delayed in the second half while a member of the officiating crew was treated by the Owen J trainers for an injury near his right eye. … As part of the Senior Night festivities, members of the Roberts marching band and their parents were recognized during halftime. … Milligan on Tucker’s role on Norristown’s special teams: “That’s why we have him back there. He’s a young guy with speed.” … A highlight for the Eagles’ defense was Donovan Noble’s interception of a Chamberlain pass at the start of the second quarter.
